Marco Island, FL – special – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, the new head of the Republican Governors Association, says a higher mission for GOP governors will help President-elect Trump.
Camp highlighted in a Fox News Digital interview that Republican governors have spent the past four years “pushing back” President Biden’s administration.
And speaking to the media for the first time since being elected RGA chair this year at the group’s annual winter meeting at a waterfront resort in Southwest Florida — the popularly conservative two-term governor said Wednesday that “ We need to focus on that. We’re getting the Trump administration off to a strong start.”
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Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, speaking at the podium, joined (left to right) Govs. Alaska’s Mike Dunleavy, New Hampshire’s Chris Sanono, Georgia’s Brian Kemp, Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt, Virginia’s Glenn Younkgin, and North Dakota’s Doug Burgum, June 3, 2024, a news release to criticize President Biden’s energy policy. At the conference. Oil refinery in Chalmette, Louisiana (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
For two years after losing the 2020 election to President Biden, Trump has been critical of the camp for refusing to help him reverse his razor-thin defeat in Georgia.
Trump pushed for, and then endorsed, a 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary challenge against Camp from former Sen. David Perdue. But the former president scaled back his criticism of the governor after Camp crushed Perdue to easily win re-nomination en route to re-election.
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But Trump, at a rally in Atlanta in August, unexpectedly went on a tirade against the Georgia governor — just weeks after publicly praising Camp in a big about-face for the former president. And the two politicians teamed up in October — for the first time in four years — to survey hurricane damage in Georgia.
Former Republican presidential candidate President Donald Trump shakes hands with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp after speaking at a temporary relief shelter as he visits areas affected by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in Evans, Ga. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (AP Photo/Evan Vokey)
Kemp, looking forward to working again with a Republican White House administration, said that “from the governors’ point of view, we have two years to build them up and help them get there, and Joe Biden— It has been overruled by the Harris administration.”
Republicans held a 27-23 gubernatorial lead in this month’s election thanks to RGA’s efforts.
“We’re ready to continue working as we go into what will be a tough stretch for us in Virginia, New Jersey. [the only two states to hold elections for governor in 2025] And then there will be 36 races in 2026.”
“My goal is to continue to raise enough money to be competitive,” Camp emphasized. “Democrats aren’t outspending us because they have big check writers, but we really have a lot of dedicated donations.” We will try to continue building the tent, make sure we have good candidates and win because our policies are better.”
Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is interviewed by Fox News Digital during his re-election campaign on September 27, 2022 in Alpharetta, Georgia. (Fox News)
Kemp said his comfortable re-election in 2022 and Trump’s presidential victory in Georgia earlier this month “have given us a lot of confidence, a lot of hope, but we also know that ’26 The midterms are going to be tough.”
Camp is term-limited and cannot seek a second term in 2026. The competition to succeed him will be the top governorship election in two years.
“I’m going to be very busy, you can rest assured, to make sure that my [successors] There are Republicans. “I’m very interested in doing that,” Kemp said. “We will work with the Trump administration and many others to make sure that this is happening not only in Georgia, but in other states across the country, in places like Kansas. , where we have a Democratic governor right now, in places like Arizona, where we have a really good shot at winning the governor’s race, we’re going to go on offense.”
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Georgia will also have a high-profile Senate race, as Republicans aim to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026.
Asked if national Republicans would nominate him to run against Ossoff, Camp replied “Well, I might.”
But he quickly emphasized that “my focus right now, after being elected chairman of the Republican Governors Association, is to raise money for us to run in 2025 and 2026. I’m committed to doing that.” What is, and I will fulfill that promise. We’ll see what happens with something else down the road.
Asked if he wasn’t ruling out a possible 2026 Senate bid or even a 2028 White House run, the governor said diplomatically, “I try to keep all doors open in politics.”
